LUDICRAFex Urbis, Lex Orbisvirus364 (2006) LP - $9.00 | CD - $12.00iTunesemusic
Ludicra takes the title of their second A.T release "Fex Urbis, Lex Orbis"— the Latin phrase meaning "dregs of the city, law of the earth"— from Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables." While the pop culture machine managed to make a hit Broadway musical out of it, Ludicra's emotional and seemingly humanistic approach to black metal seems strangely more faithful to Hugo's vision. Musically, everyone seems to agree
that Ludicra is a one-of-a-kind band: their complex instrumentation and untraditional songwriting transcend the typical bounds of black metal, incorporating elements of crust, avant-rock and death metal.

"Here's my complaint with black metal: The whole 'this is the most heaviest, darkest, extremist music ever' shtick is usually so over the top that most everything it produces ends up being pretty lame. Here's what I like about Ludicra: They play incredibly brutal metal, but, well, it's good. There's a little too much of the too-growly vocals initially, but it gets better shortly after, and I didn't even mind it after the third listen. This is great for those wanting to get into some underground metal, to those starting to get bored with the genre."- Jersey Beat

"Grey metal. Thoughts of pirates sailing an unruly sea. These pirates being Ludicra, and the sea being the city of San Francisco. Total doom and gloom, with long, thought-out arrangements that seem to carry the tunes in a forward motion. Arrangements that tell a story instead of building you into a box. Only a moment starts out as all-out vicious thrash, into double kick/guitar assault, then to an eerie vocal part reminiscent of the Omen soundtrack, then ending it all with guitar/piano arpeggios. Laurie Sue, vocal duty, tears it up... so awesome... very primal possessed sounding growl, screaming songs about the side effects and fucked up contradictions of the coming new world order over San Francisco. Imagine that over a choir-like chant, and ascending/descending spiral guitar, and some insane drumbeats... Fitting art and great title too. Fleas, ants, roaches, flies, and rats all attacking the clean and shiny new design, and the title "Fex Urbis Lex Orbis" a Victor Hugo quote that translates into "The dregs of the city, the law of the earth." Rad, huh?"- The Rise And The Fall